Best-Selling Author's Cancer Remedy Costs Him $105M

Robert Young is the author of a best-selling book called The ph Miracle in which he argues that the real culprit behind cancer and other diseases is acidity in the body, and that much can be fixed with the right diet, per the San Diego Tribune. Putting that theory into practice, however, already has landed Young a jail sentence for practicing medicine without a licence—and last week it cost him $105 million in a civil suit, reports NBC San Diego. A former patient named Dawn Kali sued Young after she underwent his regimen of baking soda infusions and colonic therapy in the hope that it would cure her breast cancer and allow her to avoid chemo and radiation. Instead, her cancer grew, and she eventually turned to a medical oncologist. The mother of four, now with stage 4 cancer, accused Young of negligence, and a jury needed only about three hours to agree.

"I hope that this sends him the message that he will not be able to profit off of hurting other people,” says Kali's attorney. The award—more than double what Kali asked for—includes $1 million for medical expenses, about $89 million for pain and suffering, and $15 million in punitive damages. “It’s totally outrageous,” says Young, who was sentenced last year to nearly four years for practicing medicine illegally. He also says it is "appalling" that Kali got so much more than she sought, especially since she knew he was not a medical doctor. Kali's new doctor says she has between three and four years to live. Kali's advice to other patients: "I think they need to be really leery of any alternative practitioner that is claiming they can cure your cancer." (A groundskeeper with cancer is getting nearly $80 million from the maker of Roundup.)